2003: Between the end of the Iraq war in April to his capture in December, Saddam released a series of tapes to the Arab media. Simon Jeffery analyses their contents.

A walk in Baghdad April 18 2003: On April 9, Saddam's statue was toppled in Baghdad and, according to some reports, the president had perished in an attack on a hideout in one of the city's residential areas the previous evening.

But just over a week later, a man bearing a striking resemblance to the pot-bellied, olive-uniformed dictator was shown on Abu Dhabi TV lapping up the adulation of the people of the capital's Azimiyah district.

The television network said the footage was genuine and filmed on the same day US forces were helping to pull the statue down about 10 miles away. An audiotape was broadcast at the same time, telling Iraqis to be ready to fight back when the time was right: "We are confident that victory at the end will be ours," it said.
Was Saddam still alive as statue toppled?

Guerrilla warMay 7 2003: This tape has an interesting story behind it. Originally intended for al-Jazeera, the two men delivering the recording gave the it to two journalists from the Sydney Morning Herald when they saw the road to the TV station blocked by US troops.

In it, a voice claiming to be Saddam asks Iraqis to unite in a guerrilla war against western troops. "The Iraqi people must keep their own civilisation in which they are one country, one people, as they are now," it says. "We have to go back to the secret style of struggle that we began our life with."

The tape contained references to demonstrations on Saddam's birthday on April 28 and several other features, including the former dictator's Tikriti accent and his habit of sipping water as he talks. It appeared genuine but the recording itself was of a poor quality.
'Voice of Saddam' urges popular uprising

Independence DayJuly 5 2003: Broadcast worldwide the day after the US celebrated its Independence Day, and the day after Washington announced a $25m bounty on Saddam's head, this tape came with impeccable timing.

Aired by al-Jazeera and according to the CIA "most likely" to be Saddam, it urged guerrilla fighters in Iraq to continue their resistance and not "sacrifice our principles or surrender". It also mocked Washington and London's failure to find the alleged weapons of mass destruction.
'Saddam' tape urges guerrillas to fight on

Down with the newJuly 17 2003: A speaker purporting to be Saddam criticises the newly formed Iraqi governing council, which, at time of broadcast, was less than a week old. He calls again for resistance to the US occupation. "How can the people benefit from employees named by the foreign occupiers?" the voice asked.

The five minute recording was broadcast on the Arab television station al-Arabiya and was apparently timed to coincide with the 35th anniversary of the 1968 revolution that brought Saddam's Ba'ath party to power.
'New Saddam tape' condemns Iraqi governing council

The war goes onJuly 23 2003: Recorded two days before his sons were killed, but broadcast on al-Arabiya the day after, the tape urges the remnants of the Presidential Guard - formerly Saddam's elite forces - to intensify attacks on US soldiers.

"The war is not over. The war is not finished," the speaker says. "Our will won't surrender and won't be defeated ... if America has achieved military superiority, it will not achieve supremacy in the battle of wills against the Iraqi people."
New 'Saddam" tape released

'I mourn to you the deaths of Uday and Qusay' July 29 2003: A speaker purporting to be Saddam declares that his sons died as martyrs for Iraq: "If Saddam Hussein had 100 sons, he would have offered them on the same path which is the path of jihad," he says. The tape goes on to say it is the hope of every fighter to become a martyr and that America will be defeated.
Saddam praises dead sons as US 'closes in' on former Iraqi dictator

Keep the lootAugust 1 2003: Broadcast on al-Jazeera, the speaker offers an amnesty to all those who looted state property on condition none of it passes into the hands of US forces. "We have decided to consider all the properties of the party and the government a gift to whoever has it," he announces.

The conciliatory tone appears to be an attempt to dissuade looters from assisting the US-led occupation out of fear that a reinstated Saddam regime would take revenge. It also seems to be a declaration from the former dictator that he will be back. Elsewhere, it talks about the former government as though it were still a functioning entity (outlining what its members, from the "president of the republic" to the "the ministers in all their levels" should do with state property), and says the US will be defeated.
Al-Jazeera airs new 'Saddam' tape

Not responsible for Najaf bombingSeptember 1 2003: In an audio tape broadcast on al-Jazeera, the speaker denounces those who have accused Saddam or his followers of involvement in the 29 August car bombing of a mosque inthe holy city of Najaf. Top Shia cleric Mohammad Baqir al Hakim was killed in the blast, along with 124 others.

"Many of you have heard the snakes hissing, the servants of the invaders, occupiers, infidels, and how they have managed to accuse the followers of Saddam Hussein of responsibility for the attack on al-Hakim without any evidence," the voice said.

He goes on to say that Saddam represented all of the Iraqi people, not just a minority group, in an attempt to appeal to Shias as their national ruler. His authority to lead Iraq had been confirmed in "free elections," the voice said.
'Saddam' denies involvement in Najaf bombing

'Tighten the noose around Americans'September 17 2003: In an audio tape broadcast on the Arabic television channel al-Arabiya, a voice claiming to be that of the deposed Iraqi leader demands that the US unconditionally withdraws its forces from Iraq, and calls on Iraqis to step up attacks against US personnel.

"O Iraqis! O fighters, men and women, you must tighten the noose around the Americans and increase your attacks against them. You must conduct jihad by all means possible, financial and otherwise," the voice said.

'The evil ones are in crisis'November 16 2003: An audio tape, purportedly by Saddam Hussein, tells Iraqis that the US and its allies misjudged the difficulty of occupying Iraq, and calls on Iraqis to escalate their resistance.

Coalition forces, the voice said, would "only reap disappointment with more and more American lives lost". The speaker on the tape, broadcast by the Arab satellite channel al-Arabiya just two days after the downing of two Apache helicopters with the loss of 17 lives, sounded like Saddam though the voice was huskier than usual.

"They thought and made others think that they were going on a picnic. Iraq will rebel against their evil intentions to colonise it and to wield influence in it ... The evil ones now find themselves in a crisis, and this is God's will for them."